Apparatus for dishwashing



Feb. 24, 1931. I E. GREENE ET'AL 1,794,169,

APPARATUS FOR DISHWASHING Filed Nov. 21.- 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTO JumwL.

ZQmJzATTORNEY- Feb. 24, 1931. E E. GREENE ETAL I 1,794,169

APPARATUS FOR DISHWASHING Filed Nov. 21; 1921 s Sheets-Sheet 2 lNVENTOR BYW K ATTORNEY.

Feb. 24, 1931. E. GREENE ETAL 1,794,169

APPARATUS FOR DISHWASHING Filed Nov. 21, 1927 3 Sheets -Sheet' 3 BY m 7km? ATTORNEY.

V rality of STATES OFFICE EDGEWORTH GREENE AND WAITSTILL H. SWENARTON, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY APPARATUS FOR DISHWASHING- Application filed November 21, 1927. Serial No. 234,888.

This invention relates to electrical dishwashing machines and has for its principal objects the provision of a sturdy and efiicient domestic machine adapted to operate on the ordinary lighting circuit, which machine is so constructed that it is possible to utilize an extremely small pump unit and yet obtain a thorough drenching of all of the utensils to be washed in said dishwasher with high pressure sprays of extensive area discharged in orderly succession upon the utensils while preventing deleterious pressure developing in the system during the transition period and which machine is furthermore virtually selfcleansing andtherefore easily maintained in a sanitary condition.

Our investigations have led to the discovery that the effective utilization of a small power unit in a circulatory system of a dishwasher including a pressure unit as a part thereof requires the provision of a plugroups of outlets discharging into the washing chamber, the total area of the orifices of which outlets is considerably in excess of the effective maximum inlet area of a pump unit capable of operating eficiently under the high pressures desired and the association with such groups of outlet apertures of a specific valve mechanism which, while capable of periodically diverting the flow of water from a pump unit employed from one group of nozzles to another group or groups, is provided with pressure equalizing means for preventing the building up of excessive and deleterious pressure in the system during the period of shifting the flow of water from one group of outlet apertures to another.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification we have disclosed several preferred embodiments of our invention merely as illustrative thereof, though we do not intend that the scope of'the appended claims shouldbelimited merely to embodiments as herein diclosed.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation partially broken away of a dishwasher embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation, partially in section of a modification; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section corresponding to the line 5-5 of Fig. 4, but showing a por tion of the 'meansfor manually shifting the flow of water through different ports as desired, modified by the addition of manual means for adjusting a portion of the valveoperating means;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section partially in elevation of another modification; and

Fig. 8 is a vertical section on the line 88 of Fig. 7 5 Referring to the construction shown in these drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates atank of Monel'metal or other suitable material of the desired capacity which is mounted on suitable legs 2 that are interconnected by braces 3 which carry the motor and pump units and also the bearings for the shafting. A spidermember 4 which is adapted to receive dish carriers or basket members 5, 5 is mounted on a vertical shaft 6, which latteris rotatably mounted in bearings carried by said frame. Said shaft is provided with collars? and '4", the former being splined' or feathered so as to be capable on occasions of vertically moving upwards against the action of a spring 8, and the latter collar 7' being pinned to the shaft to serve as a stop to limit the downward movement of the collar 7. A pedal 9 is provided in case the 'operator desires to control the movement of the collar 7 by foot pressure. When the pedal is depressed, the collar 7 will be correspondingly elevated by a fork 10 of the bell crank lever 11. Said collar carries a tappet arm 12 which, as hereinafter; explained, is. adapted to periodically actuate a sprocket wheel 13 having radially disposed pins 13 that are respectively interposed in the path of rotation of said arm when said collar 7 is in its lowermost position, the said collar, said 'tapp'et arm and said sprocket wheel conconduits a, b and c, which lead respectively to an upper group of nozzles 18, an intermediate group of lateral nozzles 19 and a group of bottom nozzles 20. The walls of the casting a: in which said distributor chamber is formed, as shown, are cored to provide ducts 21, 22 and 23, whereby water entering from the conduit 16 can pass either into duct 21, or pass through duct 22 into an intersecting verticaldischarge duct 24 and fresh rinse water can be introduced through duct 25' and then pass through duct 23 into the chamber 15. These ducts extend upwardly'through said casting to the top at which point the discharge duct 24 may be provided with a suitable goose-neck, valve-controlled outlet 'plipe (not shown) that may be arranged to ischarge into a sink, and the duct 25 may be supplied with a similar goose-neck valvecontrolled inlet pipe "(not shown) which is adapted to supply fresh hot rinse water from the boiler in the house. y

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a pressure-relief valve of usual construction, is interposed on the conduit 16 so as to permit of the discharge of water therethrough into the return flow conduit 31, which latter interconnects the suction side of the pump 17 with a sump chambe'r32 that receives the water discharged. by gravity from the bottom (1 of tank 1.

' The flow of water into the ports a, I) and a is controlled by means of a rotatably mounted head 33 which is rigidly mounted by a drive fit or otherwise on the reduced collar portion of a sleeve 35. A stem 34 passes through the sleeve 35 and stufling box 36 and is provided on its outer end with a knurled knob 37. Said sleeve 35 is slotted so as to receive a pin 38, which projects through said stem 34,

' and admits of the retraction of the stem 34 by manually gripping and outwardly withdrawing the knob 37, whereby the wheel 13, which is fixed on the outer end of said stem, can be withdrawn from the path of rotation of the tappet 12, when it is desired to maintain the flow of water from the distributor chamber through either of the ports a, b or a, which latter intersect the ducts a, b and 0 respectively. As is evident from the foregoing construction, is being rotated by the prime mover, such as an electric motor, the tappet 12 will periodwhen the shaft 6 ically engage one of the pins 13 and effect the abrupt or quick shifting of the head 33 so that the slot 6 thereof will move into registry with the duct which is 120 removed circumferentially from the way or duct with which it has been last in registry. As a result of this movement of this rotating head 33 from the position wherein its slot 6 registers with one of said ways or ports, such as 0 for example, to the position wherein it registers with the next port, such as I) for example (see the broken line position of slot 6, inFig. 321, the passage of water from the distributor c amber will be blocked off from escape into the ports a, b or c and will pass throu h the relief valve 30, since the pressure will e built up beyond the maximum or critical pressure at which the relief valve is set before it operates, (for example, in ordinary operation a critical pressure of about 50 lbs. is desirable) and thence the water will pass into the conduit 31 through which the water from the sump 32.is being returned to the pump. As a consequence, any injury to the motor or blowing out of a fuse due to excessive load on the system when the head 33 is in an intermediate position, either at the mo-- ment of starting or during the said transition period, as well as any springing of the joints of the dishwasher, will be completely prevented and, as there .is a quick shifting of the head 33 from one of its positions to the next position at which the water can be discharged therethrough, the uantit of water that will pass direct from t e out et conduit 16 of the pump to the inlet conduit 31 without passing through the dishwashing chamber will not be of any considerable consequence, nor will the loss of time affect materially the dishwashing period. In order to maintain the flow of water from the distributor chamber through any particular set of nozzles, the stem 34 is pulled outwardly by gripping the knob 37 until a pin 38 en-.

gages the inner end of the slot 39 and when in this position the pins 13' will be out of the path of rotation of the tappet 12, with the consequence that the port e in the rotating head can remain indefinitely in'registry with the particular duct with which it was either manually brought into registry or in which it was in registry at the time of such adjustment or outward movement of the wheel 13. I At any time this operation can be reversed and the parts restored to a position wherein the automatic selective operation occurs.

The port 6 in the rotating head 33 is somewhat elongated, as shown in Fig. 3, so that while the length of the same is such as to preclude the operation of two groups of nozzles at once under any conditions due tothe fact that no overlap of two successive ports a and b or band a or o and a can occur either accidentally or otherwise, yet it is of suflicient length to prevent undue waste of water through the relief valve 30.

' ing the employment of any relief valve, such as herein provided. According] no claim of sufficient scope to include suc prior dis closure of said application is made herein.

In Figs. 4, 5 and 6 of the drawings we have shown a construction wherein part or at times all of the water is caused to by-pass from the slot 6' in the rotating head 33 through an intersectingslot 7'' into either one of the slots 9, h or j of-a pipe section that is threaded into the casting 22'. This pipe section is connected by means of an elbow 41 with a conduit 31' which connects with the inlet 31 that leads from a sump, such as previously described in conjunction witlf Fig. 1,to the suction side of the pump. In the construction shown in Fig. 5, the stem 34 upon which the wheel 13 is secured, extends through said pipe section 40 and the elbow 41 andthereby it is possible to withdraw the wheel 13 from the path of rotation of the tappct 12, the same as in the construction previously described, when it is desired to maintain the slot e of the rotating head 33' in full registry with one of the ports a, b or 0'. In the constructions shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5 the rotating heads 33 or 33' are normally held against a machined seat y by means of a coil spring 2. The area of the slot 7 and also 45 of each of the slots 9. hand 7' is, as shown,

preferably at least sufiicient to correspond to the cross sectional area of any of the ports a, b, a or e so that during the movement of the rotating head from one operative position until its port 6 is in full .registry with the next successive discharge port a, b or 0', even though no relief valve such as above described is employed, there will be no tendency for pressure to be built up in the system to a point so much in excess of the normal operating pressure as to be dangerous or deleterious, since all the water discharged through the port e can pass through the slot 9 into the pipe 40 when the rotating head is in the pos1- tion shown in Fig. 6 in dotted lines whereinsaid port 6' is in a position intermediate two adjacent ports such as a and b'.

In the construction shown 1n Figs. 7 and 8,

i a cam and tappct valve. construction is employed for controlling the passage of water from the distributor chamber into the ports a, b and c. In this construction we provide a cam member 45 which is pinned or otherwise secured to a sleeve 46 that projects into the stuffing box 47, said cam comprising an elevated face is and a lower face 1, these faces being interconnected by sloping or inclined faces m and n respectively. The length of the elevated face is when supplemented by the length of one of the inclined faces m or n is 120 around the circumference of the cam 45, so that as hereinafter explained, during the rotation of said cam 45 tappct valves 50.

51 and 52, mounted on stems 59, will be respectively'ca'used to remain open in orderly.

succession during a third of a revolution and be closed during two-thirds of a revolution of said cam. These tappct valves are adapted to seat respectively on valve-seats 53, 54 and 55 and are normally held in aclosed position by springs 56. The stems of the valves are mounted on arms 57 carried by a spider 58, said spider being provided with lugs 58'. whereby the spider can be convenientlysecured to the inner vertical wall of the distributor chamber circumferentially of the stem 34". Said stems 59 each are adapted to 1 extend through a boss or journal 60 that is in splined engagement therewith, whereby longitudinal movement of the stems is permitted while the rotation thereof is prevented. On the ends of. the stems 59 of these tappet valves are provided shoes 61, 62 and 63 respectively, which shoes are adapted to ride on the aforesaid faces of the member 45. When the cam 45 is'in the position shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the tappct valve 53 will be raised entirely oifits seat, while the other two tappct valves will be seated, consequently water entering the distributor chamber through the inlet port can only escape therefrom through the duct 0.

Intermeshing bevel gears 63 and 64 are pinned or otherwise secured to the shaft 6 and to the stem 34" respectively only in the event it is desired to have the member 45 in continuous rotation, but otherwise a similar pin-gear construction to that shown in Figs. 2 and 4 may be employed. The said stem 34" can be longitudinally adjusted similarly to the stem 34 in order to withdraw the gear 64 from engagement with the gear 63 in those cases where it is desired to hold one'of the tappct valves off its seat for a predetermined length of time in order to maintain the flow and stufling box 69 are provided to prevent leakage of water from the distributor chamber through the casting w.

A spring 70, which is stronger than the combined strength of any two of the springs 56, serves to. hold the cam 45 in the position shown in Fig. 7 whereby the sleeve 46 is normally maintained in operative relation with the stem 34?. Preferably the said sleeve 58 and the tappet valves and stems associated therewith and the cams carried thereby comprise a unit which can be readily fitted upon the hollow shaft 46 and thus the same may be readily removed for regrinding operations when and as desired.

While in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a pressure relief valve is employed, nevertheless, without departing from the spirit of our invention other pressure equalizing or reducing devices such as a reducing valve or a small equalizer chamber having elastic walls or an elastic gaseous medium therein may be employed without departing from the invention as embraced within the scope of appended claims.

Among the advantages of the various constructions herein shown may be mentioned the fact; that these constructions like that disclosed in the aforesaid pending application No. 724,360 (Patent No. 1,672,286), permit of the employment of such a small pump unit that the same can be operated by a small electric motor such as is adaptable and permissible for use on the ordinary house lighting circuit, as not only is the water so utilized that in spite of the relatively small capacity of the pump (usually some 3 to 4 gals. per minute), that athorough drenching and thorough cleansing of the utensils is obtained, but the starting torque of the pump and the rotatable dish carrier geared therewith is so low that there is little danger of the apparatus stalling and causing the blowing of the fuse in the circuit or injury to the windings of the motor. Furthermore, and this is of no little consequence, the employment of a small pump inv the construction herein described requires a minimum quantity of water, about 1 or 2 qts. being necessary for maintaining efiective spraying of the dishes when utilizing a domestic dishwasher of the standard size, such as employed by the avera e family. Consequently, the expense an difficulty of securing large quantities of hot water for the washing and rinsing operations are eliminated. Likewise, the employment of such a small quantity of water in turn requires but an extremely small quantity of soap, as in dishwashing operations wherein the amount of dbris is relatively small, it is the percentage of the soap in the solution of which the sprays is composed, rather than the additional quantity of soap employed regardless of the water, which determines the ef- Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to obtain by United States Letters Patent is 1. In a dishwasher, the combination comprising a'receptacle for receiving dishes to be washed, a pump and an electric motor for operating the same, a plurality of groups of spraying means in communication with the high pressure side of said pump and adapted to discharge water upon dishes when the same are mounted within said receptacle, means for maintaining the full flow of water through the different groups of spraying means in orderly succession and means, other than said spraying means, to prevent the pressure in the system substantially exceeding a predetermined normal operating pressure during the transition period of shifting of the discharge from one group of spraying means to another so as to prevent the accumulation of excessive pressure in the system during such period.

2. In a dishwasher, the combination comprising a receptacle for receiving dishes to. be washed, a pump and an electric motor for operating the same, a plurality of groups ofspraying means in communication with the high pressure side of said pump and adapted to discharge water upondishes when the same are mounted within said receptacle, means for maintaining the full flow of water through the difierent groups of spraying means in orderly succession and means, other than said spraying means, for by-passing the water during the transition period of shifting the discharge from one group to another, so as to prevent accumulation of excessive pressure in the system during such period.

3. In a dishwasher wherein a relatively small volume of water is-distributed through a plurality of groups of spraying means in orderly succession, the combination comprising means for connecting the dishwasher with a source of water under high ressure, a distributor for the water sup iied from said source which isadapted to e brought into successive communication with different groups of spraying means and a by-pass conduit, other than said spraying means, adapted to receive the water passing through said distributor during the transition period that the full discharge through the spraying means is temporarily interrupted.

4. In a dishwasher wherein. a relatively small volume of water is distributed through a plurality of groups of sprayingmeans in orderly succession, the combination comprising means for connecting the dishwasher with a source of water under high pressure, a distributor for the water supplied from said source which is adapted to be brought into successive communication with different groups of spraying means,a by-pass conduit adapted to receive the water passing through said distributor during the transition period that the full discharge through the spraying means is temporarily interrupted, said bypass conduit having a plurality of equi-distant slots disposed around the periphery thereof, said slots being adapted to be brought into communication with the discharge from the distributor as the full discharge of Water through the different groups of spraying means is interrupted.

5. In a dishwasher, the combination comprising a circulatory system including a plu rality of groups of spraying means adapted to discharge water upon utensils to be washed, means for supplying water under high pressure to the "circulatory system, means for maintaining the full flow of water through certain of said groups of spraying means in orderly succession while preventin its flow through the rest of such groups of spraying means, means for by-passing the water during the transition period of shifting the discharge of waterfrom one group of spraying means to another so as to prevent the accumulation of excessive pressure in the system at the moment of interruption of the full dis- 40 charge from one such group of spraying means, said latter means including a by-pass conduit interposed between the means for supplying the water to the system and groups; of spraying means and a pressure relief valve in communication with said by-pass conduit.

6. Ina dishwasher, the combination comprising a circulatory system includinga plu rality of groups of spraying means adapted to discharge water upon utensils to be washed,

means for supplying water under high pressure' to the circulato I system, means for maintaining-the full ilbw of water through certain of said groups of spraying means in orderly succession while preventing its flow through the r'estof such. groups of spraying means, means for by-passmg the water during the transition period of shifting the discharge o: E water from one group of spraying means to another so as toprevent the accumulation of excessive pressur'ein' the system at the moment of interruption of the full'discharge from one such group of spraying means, said latter means including a by-pass @nduit interposed between the means for supplying the water. to the system and groups in means.

of spraying means and hydrostatic equalizer means in communication with said by-pass conduit.

7.'In a dishwasher, the combination comprising a circulatory system including a pump, means for operating the same, a receptacle for receiving utensils to be washed, a plurality of groups of spraying means adapted to discharge water into said receptacle, a distributor for bringing different groups of spraying means in orderly succession in communication with the high pressure side of the pump, a rotatable valve provided with an elongated port, a radially extending way intersectingsuch port, a by-pass conduit concentrically mounted with respect to said valve, said by-pass conduit being provided with a plurality of peripheral slots-spaced from each other, which slots are adapted to periodically communicate with said way of said rotary valve during the movement of said valve from one of its positions to another.

8. In a dishwashing machine, the combination with a receptacle for utensils to be washed, of a circulatory system comprising a high pressure, low capacity pump, an electric motor for driving the same, means, for returning water from the bottom of the receptacle to the inlet of the pump, means terminating in a plurality of groups of spraying means, for conducting water from the high pressure side of the pump to the receptacle, a distributor chamber interposed in the circulatory system between the discharge of the pump and the said spraying means, a plurality of conduits afi'ording communication between the said difi'erent groups of spraying means and the distributor chamber, means for automatically efl'ecting the discharge of water in orderly succession from the diiferent groups of spray'in means and means, including a relief v'a ve, for preventing excessive pressure developing in the circulatory igned at New York, in the county and State of New York, this 23rd day of May,

EDGEWORTH GREENE.

warrsrnir. H. swnmn'rou. 

